Sam hague



S.. HAGUE.

I' f'Hprse-Holder.

No. 43,986. 7 Patented Aug. 3o, 1864.

N. PETERS. mwmnngnph". washngum n c UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

sAM HAGUE, or UTIGA, NEw YORK.;

HORSEHOLDER.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 413,986, dated August 30, 1864.

QTo all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SAM BAGUE, of Utica, in the county of Oneida and State of `N ew York, have invented a new and. Improved Horse-Holder, to be attached to wagons and other vehicles; and I do hereby declare th at the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specication, in which- Figure lis an outside elevation of my im. proved horse-holder. Fig. 2 is an outside elevation ofthe same. Fig. 3 is a vertical section of the same at right angles to Figs. l and 2.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several figures.

The object of this invention is to provide for the hitching of a horses head, by means of the reins, to the wagon or other vehicle to which he is harnessed in such a manner that if he should attempt to start when left by the driver he will be instantly checked; and to this end it consists of a standard made of two pieces, the lower one of which is attached rigidly to one of the axles of the vehicle, and the upper one, to which the reins are to be hitched, is jointed to it and made capable, on touching a spring-catch or its equivalent, of being brought into gear with the hub of one of the wheels in such manner that when the horse attempts to start the slightest motion of the wheel causes him to be checked by the dra-wing back of the upper part ot' the standard, and drawing up the reins.

To enable others to make and use my invention, I will proceed to describe its construction and operation.

A is the lower piece o f. the standard, made of metal, with asquare socket which tits tightly to the square portion a ofthe axle Al on the inner side of the hub B of the wheel, and thus holds the said part of the standard rigidly in an upright position. C is the upper piece of the standard, also made of metal, having an upright slot, c, Fig. 3, extending through its lower part in a backward and forward direction for the reception within it of the flat upper portion of the lower piece,A, and pivoted to the latter by means of two screw-pins, b b, or their equivalents. The slotted portion ot' the piece C is oi'set in an inward direction, as shown in Fig. 2, in such manner as to bring the principal portion of the said piece over the hub B, around the inner edge of which there is firmly secured a ratchet-toothed ring, D, of

.iron or steel. In the upper part of the piece A there is au upright slot, d, parallel with the slot c, for the reception of a tlat plate, E,which is shown detached in Fig. 4. This plate is wider than the piece A, and its lower part is slotted transversely, as shown at e in Fig. 4, to enable it to tit the front and back of the piece A, and by means of the two slots d and e and a pin, f, secured in one side of the slot e, and working in an upright groove in the piece A, the said plate is kept upright, but left free to slide up and down. Under the plate E there is applied within a central cavity in the piece A a spiral spring, g, which presses the said plate upward into the groove of a roller, h, which is pivoted into the piece C above the slot c. The upper edge of the plate E is straight and horizontal, except that there is a slight recess, i, Fig. 4, at the middle of its length, to lit the grooved periphery of the roller h, for the purpose of keeping the piece C upright, as shown in black outline in Fig. 1, by the upward pressure of the plate E against the roller, produced by the spring g.

The part of the piece C which is over the hub B is bored longitudinally for the reception ot' a sliding rod, Z, on the bottom of which is secured a sector, G, which is suitably toothed to engage with the teeth of' the ring D, and around this rod thereis applied within the bore of the piece O a spiral spring, j, the upper end of which bears against a shoulder, k, within the said bore, and the lower end bears against av shoulder or projection on the rod lfor the purpose of pressing down the said rod and bringing the toothed sector into gear with the ratchet-rin g when the said rod is not held up by means of a spring-catch, p, which is fitted into a slot in the piece C, and which operates upon a pin, n, projecting from the said rod. Un the top of the rod Z,which projects through the top of the piece C, thereis a head, m, onto which the reins F are to be hitched.

While the vehicle is running the rod l is held up by the spring-catch p, and the sector G thereby heldup out ot' gear with the toothed ring E, as shown in Fig. 2; but before the driver gets down from his seat he rst hitches the reins onto the head m, then presses the spring-catch p to liberate the rod l, which is immediately pressed down by the sprin g j, and

the toothed sector G thereby brought into gear with the toothed ring D on the hub B. If the horse then attempts to start, the slightest turn of the Wheel causes the toothed ring D so to act upon the sector G as to cause the piece C to swing upon its pivots b b in such manner as to throw back the upper part, as

shown in red outline in Fig. 17 and so to draw in the reins and instantly check him. When the driver resumes his seat, he takes hold of the head m and lifts up the rod Z, and so brings the toothed sector out of gear with the toothed ring on the hub7 Where it is instantly secured by the spring-catch lo. The piece C is then caused to resume its upright position (shown in black outline in Fig. l) by the upward pressure of the spring g against the plate E.

This horse-holder forms a much more convenient and safe means of hitohin g the horse than a stationary post or tree7 as the horse canbe hitched before the driver leaves his seat. It can be applied to any vehicle in three or i'our minutes. lt may be applied for hitching up a team as Well as for hitching'up a single horse.

That I claim as my invention7 and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A horse-holder consisting of a standard so applied to the axle of a wagon or other vehicle and capable of being so geared With one ofthe wheels thereof that when the reins are .hitched to it the starting of the horse or team will instantly produce such a movement of the said standard as to draw in the reins7 substantially as herein specified.

2. The combination of the jointed standard A C, sliding rod l, toothed sector G, plate F, roller h., springs g andj, and toothed ring l), the Whole applied in combination With each other and with the axle and wheel of a wagon or other Vehicle, to operate substantially as and for the purpose herein specified.

SAM HAGUE.

Witnesses:

OLIVER H. LIGHTHALL, WM. JAMES. 

